Tox Tuesday: Emerging threat report shows sharp fentanyl increase

Each quarter, the National Drug Early Warning System releases a report outlining the latest public health threats posed by new psychoactive substances (NPSs), including synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, opioids and benzodiazepines.

The first quarter 2019 report is now live. It’s compiled from data originating from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and provides a snapshot of the U.S. psychoactive drug market.

New as of last year, the report includes fentanyl, due to its increasing importance in the opioid crisis. The 2019 first quarter report shows 541 identifications of fentanyl, fentanyl-related compounds and new opioids — a 43% increase from a year ago. Fentanyl accounts for 77% of the opioid identifications.